The Truth

I was asked once why I thought Jesus was the only truth and why Christianity was the only religion to believe in.  That was one of their problems right there.  All religions are just that-religions.  Christianity is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s only son.       

John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 1:1 says,

            “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word as God.”  In Daniel 10:21, it says His Word is called the Book of Truth.

            My loved one argued that just a bunch of men wrote the Bible, why believe them.

Again, go to the Word.  ll Peter 1:21 says God Himself spoke through each human writer.  His Holy Spirit spoke and they wrote.

            Why do I believe this?  First of all I stepped out in faith.  Then I chimed in with the psalmist who said in Psalm 25:5,

            “Guide me in Your truth and teach me…” and Psalm 86:11,

            “Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will walk in Your truth…”  In John 8:31-32 Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth    will set you free.”

            To be free, we have to know the truth and Jesus said He was the truth.  To know Jesus, we must live in His word, meaning to study and applying His teachings to our lives.  His word says we should live in it, His word must live in us, we must hear it, study it, meditate on it, and memorize it.

            We should live our life through the life of another, Jesus Christ.  When we become believers, repenting of our sins and inviting Jesus into our hearts, we die to self and start living through His life, as Romans 6:11 says,

            “I reckon myself to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

            Baptism is a beautiful picture of this when we go down into the water, our old self is buried and we raise to walk a new life in Christ. ll Corinthians 5:17,

            Since I am in Christ, I am a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

            Baptism is not a saving factor.  You are already saved at this point.  It is just a beautiful way of showing your new life and commitment to those around you and it’s also an act of obedience to the Father.  If Jesus was baptized, I believe to give us an example to follow, then we should follow.  It becomes an act of obedience right after accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.

            Why do I believe Jesus Christ and the Bible are truth and the only way.  I took that step of faith 35 years ago and have been in the Word ever since.  He has shown Himself true over and over.  The more time spent on the relationship, the stronger it becomes, the stronger I become, and the more blessed and fulfilled I feel.

            Other religions will ask you to die for their God or to prove yourself worthy.  The one True God had His beloved Son die for us.  We sinners who are so undeserving had Jesus die on the cross to pay for our sins. 

            John Newton was quoted,

            I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Saviour.”  Do you know of any other who died for you and you could call a Saviour?

            No other has ever died for the world!  I chime in with Charles Wesley who said,

            Amazing love!  How can it be that Thou, my God shouldst die for me?”     Who else has ever shown that kind of amazing love?

            Now Christ, raised to be with His Father in Heaven, is also with me.  He has given me courage to do things I could not have done on my own, given me peace that passes all understanding in difficult times, helps me to see others through His eyes of compassion, understanding, discernment, and Christ-like love.

            No one on the earth has ever met anyone else with this kind of amazing love, grace, mercy, and compassion.

            Who do you want to follow and live for.  I read on a poster, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”  Don’t fall for a lie.  Stand for the truth.  If you live for yourself, it will be a shallow, hollow existence.  If you try to live for any other, you will be let down, never experiencing all that Christ has for you including an eternal home in heaven.  Jesus tell us in John 14:2-3,

            “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

            Ponder – If you have wondered what the truth is, if you have never truly felt free from bondage of whatever that may be, if you want to experience amazing love, meditate on His word.  A good one to start with is this one:

For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict:  Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

John 3:16-21

            And that, my friend,  is the truth!